Revisiting the Capsule Wardrobe

Back in October of 2015, overwhelmed with clothes and yet with nothing to wear, I embarked on a project that would challenge and change the way I shopped. The capsule wardrobe project allowed me 40 pieces of clothing per season - the rest had to be put in storage - and I wouldn't buy any new clothes during that time, just wearing and re-wearing what I already had.

You can read more about the nitty gritty of the project in this post, but ultimately my goal was to stop buying mindlessly and actually begin to curate a wardrobe of clothing I wore more frequently, and got more joy from. I wanted to avoid impulse purchases and the 'paradox of choice' where actually having too much causes anxiety. I was wearing about 30% of my wardrobe regularly, and just hanging on to things I would never wear because they still had the tags on, or 'they might come in useful.' This is the antithesis of the project, and buy clearing out and paring back, I had more money (less wasted on clothes I never wore) and I also helped the environment a little (cutting out on my intake of fast fashion)

I actively pursued the project for about 18 months and for the first year was super strict, I have fundamentally changed the way I shopped off the back of it, however recently I found myself slipping back into old habits. I've bought a handful of things (most with Christmas money or vouchers, granted) but my wardrobe is once again feeling a bit claustrophobic and I am wondering whether it might be a good time to look at refreshing the project for 2018. Whilst I didn't really find that limiting myself to a 'number' of pieces was helpful, I do think that there are no gaps in my wardrobe at the moment, so there really isn't anything I need to buy. I just need to streamline what I have a little and look at the things I wear vs. the things I don't!

I was thinking about perhaps doing a monthly round up post where I talk about the items I've bought (if any) and the items I've enjoyed wearing. I really find it interesting to read about others experiences with capsule wardrobes, as bloggers I think there's so much impetus on always having the latest looks to wear and I actually find it more exciting to put together looks from my own wardrobe, rather than buying a new item for a night out I might only wear once.